Instagram ad size: feed, Story and Reels ads in pixels

Feed ads: portrait wins

Meta's feed specification accepts anything from 1.91:1 wide to 4:5 tall and recommends 4:5 at 1440 by 1800. Portrait takes the most height on a phone screen, which is where almost all Instagram ads are seen. A square 1080 by 1080 ad sits inside the allowed range and runs without a crop; it simply takes less space. Wide 1.91:1 images also run, but they look small in a feed of portrait posts.

Stories and Reels: the same frame, different text

Story and Reels ads both use a 9:16 frame, and Meta's guide gives 1440 by 2560 pixels for both. The difference is the copy: a Story ad allows 125 characters of primary text, while a Reels ad allows 44 and is not auto captioned. Both placements draw interface over the edges, which is why Meta asks for the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent on each side to stay clear of text and logos. On a 1080 by 1920 frame those margins are 269, 672 and 65 pixels.

One design, two crops

The efficient workflow is to design the vertical ad first, with the offer in the central safe box, and then make the 4:5 feed version by keeping the same middle area and trimming the top and bottom. A 1080 by 1920 frame trimmed to 1080 by 1350 keeps the middle 70 percent of its height, and because the vertical safe box already sits in the middle, the important elements usually survive. The aspect ratio calculator shows exactly what a fill crop removes.

Common mistakes

Putting the call to action or price at the bottom of a Story ad, where the reply bar and button sit. Writing a 125 character line for a Reels ad, which is cut to 44. Uploading the feed image below 500 pixels wide. Using a landscape image in Stories, which leaves bars or forces a crop. And adding a logo in the top corners, where the account name and progress bar appear.

Making Instagram ad images

The flyer editor makes the two Instagram canvases Meta's square and vertical placements need: Instagram Post at 1080 by 1080 and Instagram Story at 1080 by 1920, chosen under Format in the generator. Exports are twice the canvas, 2160 by 2160 and 2160 by 3840, which is larger than Meta's 1440 pixel recommendations, so they can be scaled down without loss. The editor has no 4:5 canvas, so for 1440 by 1800 feed ads the flyer size resizer refits a finished design; vertical video ads come from the video builder's 1080 by 1920 format.

Questions people ask